What IS Texas Pride?

Cocoa, my dad is the animal control officer for Ellis Co. Sherriffs Dept., so I understand completely. It's still ok to buy livestock there, right?

Man I wish people would take as much pride in pet ownership (getting them fixed/vet care) as they take in being a Texan! Gives us a bad name to have so many unwanted animals.

You have a good heart Cocoa for being an angel to so many!

Bronc, I would think twice about purchasing any animal there. I'm sure there are some good people there. If you really want something make a date with the seller on their property before making decisions. But again livestock auction houses have are far more rules about health, handling and theft protection then Canton has yet to implement. This is one area I would like to see a lot more red tape. (can't belive I said that) lol

Do others in the area feel the same way? Couldn't you all band together and get some control over the situation?

A change is coming and hopefully soon. Tho, not soon enough for some. A neighbor of mine erected a huge billboard in her front yard "THIS IS NOT THE HUMAN SOCEITY DO NOT DUMP ANIMALES ON THIS COUNTY ROAD". We did have a cat show up a few months back, but the dumping seems to be slowing down. I'll see if I can get a photo of the sign, it's so big it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

then again, i would have never known and loved such characters

Bless your heart Cocoa_Lulu ~ you are a kindred spirit. It doesn't take puppy mills to get all the dumpees. Over the years I have taken in many cats and dogs. Can't begrudge the poor animals but resent the irresponsible people. Our visiting DD found four kittens dumped at the end of our drive. Their eyes had just open and she was in tears. She said they dump their pets like trash down here. Not the image Texans would want to project! The kittens all made it and I gave them only to those I knew would neuter/spay. Atta girl ~ TNN!

I can't stand the animal portion of Canton. Gives me the creeps and I am an animal person... We avoid it like the plague.

BTW, this was a cool link of placing feral cats in north Texas. http://www.barncats.org/index.php

*sits and wishes the family beagle was here instead of back in Illinois*

making note to stay away from the animals in canton cause I would want to take them all home....our dog won't be here till x-mas when my folks bring her down.
Dh says no cats *pouts* I just wanted one free kitten to be inside outside to help keep scorpions out of the house *sounds funny when I think of it being mice back in Illinois in the country)
And I have sat and looked at Petfinder thinking a young dog wouldn't' be bad since the beagle is about 14 and it would give hubby company when I am at work, but he says no to pets right now.

Some people are so heartless, thoughtless and cruel. It still surprises me when they get rid of pets so carelessly. It shouldn't anymore, but it does. Our first cat was rescued by one of my DHs co-workers from a very busy parking lot. Lucky was supposed to be a barn cat. Until accommodations could be made for him in the barn, he lived in the house for several weeks. DH installed a cat door in the metal barn door. Lucky refused to use it. He kept returning to the house, in a panic and wanting in. He is now a happy indoor only house cat. We rescued our second cat from between double yellow lines on our local FM road. Winston was between 5 - 6 weeks old. Someone had tossed him from a moving vehicle. He suffered several severe injuries, but he recovered. He too joined the household. Three years ago, our local animal shelter asked for towels and blankets. So I went through the linen and bathroom closets and asked DH to take them to the animal shelter. He came back with a Border Collie/Australian Sheepdog. She had been so abused that it took almost two years before she could handle having two people near her. Sometimes, for reasons known only to her, she still shys away from the two of us. Her one joy is to be among the our cattle. She was recently bitten by a water moccasin. As soon as she was able, she joined the herd for a midday siesta under the live oaks. The herding instinct is so strong in her that she made a lousy backyard pet. She was turned in to the shelter for harrassing the other pets in the family. A working dog needs something to do. She was doing what she was bred to do — herd and was abused for it.

OK,,,,,, back to that Texas Pride Yall!!!!!
I got a stepping stone recently from a friend and was going to put in a flower bed at the end of the shop anyway. Dropped that stepping stone there and came up with an idea. Meet my TX bed, the view is from my deck. It still needs some coneflower, and other plants, but I am working on that. Also my apologies to you El Paso area people, due to poor planning, couldn't fit it in. I also now have a rock stream going through that area where when it rains the water will run down behind the shop. I can't wait until next year when it fills in.



This message was edited Oct 5, 2007 6:34 AM

Bettydee ~ I have one of them ~ Podster. He was a dumped dog and is nervous around others. He limps and hence the name tripod turned to Pod to the Podster. The vet says it was either a break or bad dislocation that didn't heal right. His advice was to leave it as is for now. This guy limps but can run like the wind and swims daily for the sheer joy of it.

We have no livestock and he spends his life trying to run herd on four cats, a crabby vintage Lab and myself when I walk. I am researching some type of agility training to burn out his gunk! A neighbors horse got out and was at our place overnight browsing. When he discovered him, he jumped the fence ~ never does and ran the horse back up to the neighbors and came right back home. They were more than grateful. http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/viewentry/111500/

Cool bed idea Sheila ~ what all types of plants?

Hey Sheila! I got one too! Hopefully, next year mine will be fuller too.

Bwahahahaha! I love it! Sheila & Bronc, you guys are very clever. :)

I've got the Texas stepping stone (the black plastic horse I found in the dirt while I was working in that flowerbed). I planted BlackFoot Daisies around it, and now you can't see the stepping stone at all. But *I* know it's there!

Carla

Got tired of the birds using the dog's water bowls for hygene.

Me too, Bubba! And now my dog drinks out of the birdbath. Touche!

Ha! I have a cake pan shaped like the state of Texas and always annoy neighbors by giving them "Texas-shaped" cakes!

You go girl!!

Thank-you Sheila!!!! Your texas bed is so well planned---looks great!

Bubba-love that your birdbath is sparklin' clean! I bet the birds love it! What a unique design WHERE did you find it?

Bynde-haha, you know I have a cookie cutter shaped like Texas. Have one of Michigan to. LOL. But since YOU are in OR I bet that really is funny or annoyin' to your neighbors! Least it gets you all out to meet each other! :)

Yeah it really seems to bug them, but DH is a native Texan so we are forever linked to that state!

Not a bad state to be linked to, huh?

So weird though, so many people have ties to Texas now but I hardly ever meet a native! Wonder if my daughter, who is native, will ooze this Texas pride? :D

I bet she will, how could she help it?

Tir,
We found it on Hempstead Hwy just a little way NW of 34th.

The birds, leaves, etc. mess it up, but DW has found that soaking with a bleach solution for a couple of hours (covered to protect the birds and cats) works. After rinsing it out and air drying - it holds for a few weeks.

Tir, I saw those Texas shaped birdbaths at our local Ace Hardware store. I don't know if what is found in one store is also in all the others, but you could check.

OH you guys are soo cool thanks for posting your pictures
love the gardens and bird bath
wonder what hubby would say if I wanted to do a garden in the shape of Illinois then one the shape of Texas ..he'll probably laugh at me.
But I could do both in the front yard would be less area for him to mow ...hehehehe

I have noticed one thing different in Texas then Illinois is here at weddings they have 2 cakes..one for the groom (usually chocolate)and one for the bride (the fancy white one)

So another friend, non-Texas, reminds me of:

I think the mother's of the grooms started that! LOL! One more cake for their baby. LOL!
Love all those Texas items!! Great cactus in the middle of your bed Bronc! Hi Bubba...I don't think my birdbath would ever be clean if it was white! LOL!
Don't you just love that stepping stone Loonie? It is so think and heavy, unlike those that you usually find.
As for the questions about what is planted in my TX shaped bed; I am sure I have loads of 4 o’clock, Larkspur and Poppy seeds from prior bed that will pop up in the Spring, and hopefully Bluebonnets I planted earlier this year. Then there is the Elephant Ear that came up from the roots of one I took out. I have a little Vitex tree front and center to help shade a little next summer. I have tried to plant Texas Native or Adaptive plants. I have Mexican Milkweed, Tx Star Hibiscus, Indigo Spires, Rock Rose, Lyreleaf Sage, West TX Mist Flower, Mealy Cup Sage, Turk's Cap, a white Primrose, and a Desert Willow so far. I plan on putting in some Purple Cone Flowers, 4 Nerve Daisies, and Rudbeckia for sure. I doubt I will be able to see the outline or my stepping stone when I am finished, but like you said Loonie, I will know it is there!

This is a great thread. I'm so glad you started it...don't remember who that was. I haven't read all of it, but I had to post about this bumper sticker I used to have on my car. It said "It's hard to be humble when you're from Texas!" That sticker faded out and I can't find another one. If I ever see it again I'm going to buy atleast a dozen! I have always felt proud to be a native Texan and then I married and DH joined the Army. We moved away and lived in Maryland and then Germany for 6 years and I found out what it's liike to live "somewhere else". The reaction I received from people who were not from here was really interesting and I began to understand why I had that pride and what exactly there was to be proud of. It was always something I took for granted and never understood. BTW We found out the Germans especially are fascinated with all things Texan

This is a short story about friendliness. My brother who lives in Atlanta, Ga was visiting us once and he decided to go get some groceries. He had not been back in Texas for many years. He came home from HEB and had this strange look on his face. I asked him what happened and he said he just had the strangest experience at the store. I couldn't imagine what he was talking about. He said he was in the produce section trying to find something and somebody walked up to him and asked if he needed any help. I thought OK, so? He said "Well, that just never happens in Atlanta." He was stunned. I hope this doesn't insult anybody in Atlanta, but that is what he said.

It was I who claimed the first posting Silver. Was it beautiful living in MD with all the history there to? I've never had the pleasure of being up that direction.

That's so sad he had to have his best shopping experience in Texas! That's the one thing though I've not found to only be true in Texas---I still find rude employees and can often be overlooked even though I'm standing right there to ask a question of one---and Texas is the only place I've ever been giving the bird on the road. It helps a lot to find happy and helpful customer service if you are in a smaller town...I've been in the city for the last few years now so I'm sure that makes a difference. But that's just my experience...my mom, as mentioned before, she thought people were MUCH more polite in Texas on her first trip I just never did notice a great difference. Wonder what's wrong with me? I am a "glass is half full person."

I've been pleasantly helped in many stores in many towns and states, thank goodness for the most part humankind still has manners. :D

DB drives a truck over the road and says drivers on the whole are more polite in Texas than the other 47 states.

Just found this thread.....................Austin is the only liberal artistic music city in Texas.........they use the word weird because Austin is not like any of the other cities in Texas................i went to school there (UT Austin)............there were 35 thousand students at the University when I was in school over 45 years ago..................

Austin is unique and special...........love it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why are you so down on Texas?..............just curious..........I would never choose San Antonio as a place to live.....................
My mom's favorite saying when i was growing up was always , "Bloom where you are planted"............it must have stayed with me..........I have lived in 13 houses since I left the university and at least as many places.................each has its fine points .................

Tir, yes Md was very pretty and very historic, but we didn't find it to be friendly. We have talked to people who were either from there or lived there a long time and they agreed with us that they are "just that way". And it's definitely true that you can find rude people anywhere. I doubt that people in other states intentionally ignore others, but in some places we've been it seems to be part of the culture to keep to themselves. In Germany, we were told by some friends of ours that some Germans are offended by American friendliness and feel like it is an intrusion on their privacy.

Gessie, you're right there are good things about all places. But after 11 years of military life and atleast 11 moves, DH and I agree that the best part about moving to someplace else is getting to come back home.

I can't argue there...................i am 65 and decided 4 years ago to come home to grow old.........I left home at age 17 for college and said I would never live at home again.
I am sooooooooo happy.............didn't want to and said I would never live in this dump of a small town..............guess what? My brother and my adult kids put a little pressure on me so the grands could visit in the country...............and I love my life here.

Just for fun, my cousin sent me this email tonight about "Are you really a Texan?" or something like that..............I took the test and wouldn't have gotten a scholarship anywhere over my score..........but it's fun...........here is the link

http://gotoquiz.com/the_new_improved_texas_trivia

gessie, so sorry I gave the impression I was down on Texas. quite the contrary, I've lived in 3 states and visited several others, I've lived north, west and south and yep, ended up in TEXAS! I love a lot of things about Texas but when my friend asked me what was the deal about Texas pride I didn't have the answer for her so hence my asking about it.

Sorry you would never choose SA as a place to live. As far as bigger cities go we thought it was pretty nice! And we moved there for a job at the time so I figure that's incentive enough to relocate. :D There are always plus's and minus's to every place. I've lived in po-dunkville's and now big cities and liked things of each.

Pod, LOL@HEB! Well your DH would know best about the people since he literally does see the whole country!

Hey, we really like HEB! At some times of the year, it is the best source of fresh fruits and veggies that we in Podunkville can find. And we have to drive 35 miles to the HEB. I would not trade my little bit of Texas for anything on earth.......................... Well, make me an offer and I'll consider it. :>)

LOL pat. I didn't make any quips about HEB. Some locations are superior but they do often have fresher stuff than other places. They are the only place I've found pummelo fruit. :D

HEB is the only thing I don't like about south Texas. They have a complete monopoly on grocery stores. You can't even buy many name brand products in south Texas as they are pushing their own brands................I had forgotten what it is like to have good grocery stores like the cities do.
You ought to see HEB bust their you know whats in the cities.........there is a location on the corner of Westheimer and Fountainview in Houston that rivals any of the good stores in Houston. Do you think for a second that Charlie Butt would offer that kind of a store to us in south Texas??????????? No way................
Whenever I get out of of the southern part of Texas..........i shop like crazy for groceries in Houston and Austin.....................i also order a lot of things on line now.............
I rarely buy produce at HEB..............We are lucky enough that there are people we get used to parking on the side of the county roads with produce from the valley that is so fresh and good.
I wouldn't dare buy their fish.........ugh!!!!! It comes in frozen , HEB thaws it out and it looks gross...........I buy a lot of fish in real big pieces that are frozen the minute they are caught..................
When i go to HEB and have to..............I just ask what they have frozen in the back that hasn't been thawed out..........mahi, tuna, snapper and shrimp are about the only fish i can get that way.......

Aw, that quiz was fun! Thanks for sharing the link.